Confusion set in Rina at once, wounding its arms around her so tightly that she didn’t think there was any route of escape. She sat up at once, pulling herself until her back pressed against the headboard, with her head reeling from what she had just heard. “I think you got the wrong person,” she said finally. “My parents are well and alive, and I know their lawyer as well, because it is the same lawyer I use. And his name definitely isn’t Marco.”
“Pardon me,” the voice returned, sounding solemn and sad. “What I am about to do is probably not right since it is the first time we are speaking and it isn’t exactly a conversation to have on the phone. But at the same time, I know you wouldn’t meet up with me, unless you are entirely sure about what this is. You are a public figure here, so that means you are really particular about your security.”
“You sure did your research,” Rina murmured.
“No. Not exactly. I was just so surprised that all this time, you were right within reach while I turned the whole world upside down, trying to find you.”
“Is this a scam?” Rina angled her head, waiting impatiently for his response. She already made up her mind that if he didn’t say anything reasonable, strong enough to keep her listening to him in another minute, she was going to end the call and turn off her phone. Rina wondered how he got her contact, because her personal cell line wasn’t public notice for security reasons. That means someone close to her had done that.
“Ms. Power, like I said earlier, I am Marco and I wouldn’t be doing this if it wasn’t important. Have you heard anything about the Jones? Does that name ring a bell?”
Rina didn’t have to think about it for too long. “Yes. Everyone knows them, or at least, those from the older generation. They were a part of the five richest family in the country, that is, until they were brutally murdered in the middle of the night and left for dead. Such cruel world.”
“Is that the only part of the story you remember?” Marco asked softly.
“What is this about…Marco, right?”
“The Jones lost their daughter that night too, a two-year-old baby whose body was never recovered. She had been with them that night when they were killed, as the evidence was spread all around the home, but it was the last time anyone saw her until date.”
“Okay….” Rina still didn’t know how any of that was her business.
“Ms. Power, I know this will come as a shock, and I hate to break it to you this way.” He paused dramatically and sighed. “Are you sure you don’t want to meet up to talk about this physically? It could be wherever you want. I don’t mind…”
“Speak, Marco. You already got me curious so you might just as well finish what you started.”
“You are their daughter, Ms. Power,” he blurted.
Rina laughed. “I needed a damn good distraction today and this did it for me. However, I have to say that it has done its work. Go bother someone else.”
“I wouldn’t be calling you if this wasn’t important,” Marco said, trying to stop her from ending the call. “You are Rina Jones. All these years, I had been looking at death and adoption records in the country, going through them over and over again. I couldn’t imagine that a two-year-old was taken outside the shores of this country so fast that night, but when my assistant told me to check outside our jurisdiction just once, I went through all the small cities around us, until I came to a family called Mr. and Mrs. Power. They found a baby on their doorsteps thirty-two years ago on a rainy night.”
“That isn’t true. I would have known.”
“Ms. Power, I know how sudden and strange this must feel, but I am certain about it. You somehow ended up at their threshold that night, and I am still yet to figure out how that happened. All we know for certain is that you are not the biological daughter of the Power family. Mrs. Power had been barren for years and when you came around, they had no reason to push you away. You were taken to the court at once, and a missing baby ad was placed in the papers there, but it never got here. After a couple of months, they were finally allowed to adopt you legally. They treated you like theirs ever since because they had no reason to act any different. If the adoption process hadn’t been legal, there was no way I would have been able to tell you were the one.”
“And my name?”
“They found only a first name tucked into the wads of clothes used to wrap you that night. Rina. No surname. Nothing.”
“This has got to be some huge joke,” Rina whispered, more to herself than Marco. “I don’t believe you. I am going to have to talk to my parents first.”
“It would have been strange if you had believed me right away,” he replied, sounding like a perfectly normal person. “I have birth certificates and other properties purchased in your name to prove it. Your baby pictures are also available so you can see for yourself.”
“But did you call just to tell me this?”
“No. Your father, Mr. Jones, in his will, mandated that you had to be present at his will reading before any of his properties can be shared. Because of that clause, I have been saddled with the task of executing the estate for the past twenty five years. I am well advanced in years, and do not want to die and let it pass back to the government. A few of the extended family of the Jones are around and have been waiting for this moment. When I found you, I told them we were going to be having the will reading soon.”
“This is…”
“I know,” he murmured. “Just take your time to accept it all.”
If Rina hadn’t been so immersed in her confusion, she would have heard the amusement in his tone.